Editor’s Note: Empty All Cages is highly disgusted with how these deaths were played down by all involved. First and foremost, computer generated animals are commonly used in successful movies. With 21st century technology, live animals in movies are nothing more than slaves. And no one in their right mind would house hooved animals among bluffs and sinkholes. Unbelievably, just prior to “The Hobbit” opening for next month, Peter Jackson denied that animals were killed in the making of the film- shamefully ignoring the issue that the slaves were killed being housed for the film.
(Pictures added to to show how these crimes might look- they aren’t from the scene)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Animal wranglers involved in the making of “The Hobbit” movie trilogy say the production company is responsible for the deaths of up to 27 animals, largely because they were kept at a farm filled with bluffs, sinkholes and other “death traps.”

The American Humane Association, which is overseeing animal welfare on the films, says no animals were harmed during the actual filming. But it also says the wranglers’ complaints highlight shortcomings in its oversight system, which monitors film sets but not the facilities where the animals are housed and trained.

One wrangler said that over time he buried three horses, as well as about six goats, six sheep and a dozen chickens. The wranglers say two more horses suffered severe injuries but survived.

The Associated Press spoke to four wranglers who said the farm near Wellington was unsuitable for horses because it was peppered with bluffs, sinkholes and broken-down fencing. They said they repeatedly raised concerns about the farm with their superiors and the production company, owned by Warner Bros., but it continued to be used. They say they want their story aired publicly now to prevent similar deaths in the future.

Wrangler Chris Langridge said he was hired as a horse trainer in November 2010, overseeing 50 or so horses, but immediately became concerned that the farm was full of “death traps.” He said he tried to fill in some of the sinkholes, made by underground streams, and even brought in his own fences to keep the horses away from the most dangerous areas. Ultimately, he said, it was an impossible task.

He said horses run at speeds of up to 30 mph and need to be housed on flat land: “It’s just a no-brainer.”

The first horse to die, he said, was a miniature named Rainbow. “When I arrived at work in the morning, the pony was still alive but his back was broken. He’d come off a bank at speed and crash-landed,” Langridge said. “He was in a bad state.”

Rainbow, who had been slated for use as a hobbit horse, was euthanized. A week later, a horse named Doofus got caught in some fencing and sliced open its leg. That horse survived, but Langridge said he’d had enough.

He and his wife, Lynn, who was also working as a wrangler, said they quit in February 2011. The following month, they wrote an email to Brigitte Yorke, the Hobbit trilogy’s unit production manager, outlining their concerns. Chris Langridge said he responded to Yorke’s request for more information but never received a reply after that.

Wrangler Johnny Smythe said that soon after Langridge left, a horse named Claire was found dead, its head submerged in a stream after it fell over a bluff. After that, he said, the horses were put in stables, where a third horse died.

Smythe said no autopsy was performed on the horse, which was named Zeppelin. Veterinary records say the horse died of natural causes, from a burst blood vessel, but Smythe said the horse was bloated and its intestines were full of a yellow liquid; he believes it died of digestive problems caused by new feed.

Smythe said the six goats and six sheep he buried died after falling into sinkholes, contracting worms or getting new feed after the grass was eaten. He said the chickens were often left out of their enclosure and that a dozen were mauled to death by dogs on two separate occasions.

Smythe said he was fired in October 2011 after arguing with his boss about the treatment of the animals.

A fourth wrangler, who didn’t want to be named because she feared it could jeopardize her future employment in the industry, said another horse, Molly, got caught in a fence and ripped her leg open, suffering permanent injuries.

Dravitzki, the spokesman for Peter Jackson, said the production company reacted swiftly after the first two horses died, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars upgrading housing and stable facilities in early 2011. “We do know those deaths were avoidable and we took steps to make sure it didn’t happen again,” he said.

Dravitzki said Zeppelin died of a burst blood vessel and that he knew only of three goats, one sheep and about eight chickens that had died aside from that. He said two of the goats died in a cold snap but the third, like the sheep, was old and had likely died of natural causes. He said the chicken maulings were the result of careless staff oversight.

Mark Stubis, an association spokesman, said it investigated the farm in August 2011, months after the first deaths. “We made safety recommendations to the animals’ living areas. The production company followed our recommendations and upgraded fence and farm housing, among other things,” the group said.

Dravitzki said the company had already made many of the recommended changes by the time the AHA made them. Stubis said the association acknowledges that what happens off-set remains a blind spot in its oversight.

“We would love to be able to monitor the training of animals and the housing of animals,” Stubis said. “It’s something we are looking into. We want to make sure the animals are treated well all the time.” “Hollywood has made animal welfare a stated priority for years.” (obvious lie)

The animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) says it’s planning protests at the premieres in New Zealand, the U.S. and the U.K. “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” the first movie in the planned $500 million trilogy, will open at theaters in the U.S. and around the world in December 14th.

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54 comments on “27 Animals Killed During “The Hobbit””

Well I have been doing A LOT of investigating on how Hollywood has treated animals for years now.
People like Peter Jackson ARE FULLY AWARE of how these animals are being treated. And get all updates from the Wranglers that are working for them.
If you go back and do your homework you will find out just how bad animals have been treated and killed just to make a good scene.
They don’t give two cents about how many animals get killed as long they make a good profit at the theaters.
I use to laugh at the PETA people but NOW I am all for them.
If I see PETA demonstrating in front of a theater I will most like join in and help now.
I am not against a dog in a movie doing a family scene or something none violent or dangerous like rolling over or jumping up on something. But having them go through a burning building or some water scene that they could possibly drown from. NO WAY.
And as far as horses go, unless they are used for ONLY RIDING AT SAFE SPEEDS AND NO WAR SCENES THAT WOULD MOST MOST LIKELY cause them to be injured or killed, then no way should they be used.
And the AHA was never designed to watch over the animal safety like we were told. That was for the actors and extras.
And until they STOP using animals in movies they SHOULD have a complete new independent organization be able to come in and monitor all animal activities from start to finish.
But see if they did that, then the movie industry would realm suffer loses then because the truth would come out about how they treat animals and they would be shut down.
Or they would have to spend so much money on keeping the animals healthy that it would cut into their profits.
And if that happens salaries would suffer and if salaries suffer you know what that means?
No parties after the making of the movie for the actors. And no parties means unhappy actors.
And they couldn’t have that. So they will go on treating animals like throw away props and continue to lie to the public about what goes on behind the current.
So I ENCOURAGE everyone if you see PETA demonstrating in front of a movie theater JOIN IN. If enough people show up it will get into the news. If it gets on TV then that gets the word out even more.
The more people that know the truth the more chances of HOLLYWOOD being pressured into changing their treatment of animals.

Absolutely Gary, if you see any group protesting for animals (you can tell by their signs), just pull over, park and be a voice for the voiceless for awhile.Right again about the AHA… they are another agency created for the profiteers using animals in movies. Planet of the Apes proved how awesome CGI animals look so there’s no excuse to use real ones anymore! If you want to find peacefull groups near you, just google animal rights groups then your city. PeTA, like any other group, has their bad points. But they have been groud breakers in showing the world that animals are abused. They are also very effective is freeing animals!
It won’t be easy, but I suggest everyone watch the undercover videos that Mercy For Animals gets. 99% of the time there are criminal charges and cruel people are shut down! For me, I work a lot to end animal slavery; the cirus, SeaWorld, greyhound racing, etc.

MERCY FOR ANIMALS UNDERCOVER WORK this is standard practice for all animal farms:

People get way to upset over somethings, Hear me out PLEASE. I own horses, dogs, chickens, sheep, geese, goldfish etc. and understand and HATE the way humans find the need to punish animals. Anyway my pony was abused and beaten when I got him 10 years ago and it has taken me this long to get him to trust other people, I have worked with him everyday and cared for him, just as ALOT of movie/ acting horses are cared and loved for. We have become so removed from the real world we just jump on our computers and write awful things about people, why don’t you go to the movie sets and see how the animals are treated, because I can assure you an animal doesn’t do things willingly if you are cruel to it. I am NOT saying these people did the right thing but I am saying don’t judge every one in the industry because of this one evil act. Oh and one more thing, the makers of the Hobbit are so busy they don’t know about a lot of the behind the scene care etc. So the people who looked after the animals should be condemned not the movie itself!

Angelina, On the animals injured on set…. animals are not ours to use for entertainment. They should have never been there in the first place. I can’t say it enough, if you are making any animals do something for you, you are a slaver. You should be judged! The director of The Hobbit is a gifted CGI specialist so he of all people knows that real animals are no longer needed in movies. The only thing these people think about is money or they would be more compassionate so making sure their ticket sales go down is the only way to open their eyes.
On your pony… If you know this poor animal was abused and “worked with him” to let you ride him, please never say another word on this site. How horrific it would be to not only keep him serving you as a slave but to pretend to care past wanting to ride him. Cruel breach of trust. If that is the case, that you ride an abused animal, you are one of the worst people I’ve encountered here.

This Reply is to all…..
I find this news very upsetting, all animal lovers would. But nothing you people say on a website will change the fact it happened. I saw the movie 5 times at the movies and loved it and no I don’t regret that I did. Peter Jackson is just a producer/ director and hires people it organise things for him….he may not of known the extent of the problem. But worrying about CGI’ ing everything or animals won’t be used in the movie industry where they get one of the best lives an animal could want, I know….
Start worrying about the idiots that own horses/dogs/cats and give them horrible lives, i.e. people come into the saddlers shop I work at and ask for things that make me cringe that they would even consider putting on or doing to their horses….dogs are abused then left to attack innocent people and get blamed for it…..cats are let out at night and kill wildlife. I wish we could have done something about the incident but we can’t …..if you want to do something become a vet, carer, farrier, dentist for animals and stop whinging!

Emma, You must be very young because your response is so unintelligent- so I’ll try to be kind. Not because you express an opinion- that’s great no matter what. But the best life an animal could want?????? You are serious that being held captive and made to perform is better than being left alone in the wild? Stay in school hon- you need it.
Feral animals on the street are the sole fault of breeders and people who don’t adopt fixed animals.

Peter Jackson is an adult making alot of money in an industry where he is so experienced in that he’s considered a pioneer. He knows full well that using animals over CGI requires far more responsibility. His fault.

Peter Jackson, very much like yourself, is not an animal lover or there would be far more compassion for their suffering beyond- get over it. What we can do is, make sure self centered people who let animals in their care get hurt just to make money see a loss in profit. Then they will rethink using animals.

Emma, I hope you don’t go around saying in public that your an animal lover because everyone can see you’re not by the things you say.

What does it have to do with starvation in Africa? These movie producers make a ton of money off these films, the least they can do is see that the animals are treated properly. I grew up with horses, any moron knows they need proper enclosures & land to run around safely.
If movie producers can’t treat animals with respect they shouldn’t be permitted to use them.

Onemom, I think you have too many children and your thinking got damaged. And healthy emotions as well. You don’t have to kill animals if you can use computer simulation. You don’t have to use them at all in the movies. They are not actors and they are not paid for it. Are they our slaves??? If you think that way, it is really bad…
r you are an idiot.

Thanks so much for all this info. I am absolutely shocked they tried to keep it so quiet. What good is the AHA if they don’t go behind the scenes ?? This is something they have done before on many films and just look the other way. I agree with Lou, let peeps know by standing outside cinemas with the photos and leaflets and ask them are you happy to go and watch a film that killed 27 animals for YOUR entertainment?

I do not plan on ever seeing this movie. All they care about is lining their pockets at the expense of animals I shudder to think they treat their own home animals in this manner. This is blood money pure and simple. I.do not support the greedy producers, the movie, or the Animal activists are millions strong and we can, and we will, shut this down.

Sheila, all it takes to protest in your town is either you alone (Iv done that) or you and a couple friends outside the movies theatre. Opening night is this Friday the 14th. In my town we’re doing 5-7pm Saturday.

spot on kathy…. im sure this person does F*k all for others… but likes to complain about people that care about those she likes to shove in her hole in her face.. and will say anything to protect that right… albeit unethical.

Humans outnumber animals of a species by billions. Humans continue to waste, waste, waste, never thinking that this will eventually be the cause of their own demise. Animals do not take more than they need. Animals (other than Chimps who share more than 98% of our DNA) do not get joy from causing pain to another. Animals kill because they need to eat, not for entertainment. Animals do not use what large or little brain power they have thinking of ways to be lazy or petty. For those reasons, yes, some of us do care more about animals than humans. My question for you, since you purport to care about the children of the world, is “how much money and time do you give to aid them?”

I have to AGREE with ‘r’ 3 horses, 6 sheep and goat and chickens that are too stupid to live anyway(I lived on a farm all my life) and everyone is up in arms. Please people pull your heads out of your orifices and start looking at the bigger picture. Armchair jockeys that only read the “animal story” and comment need to stop. Yes it sucks that animals are treated badly, it is an awful thing, they can’t say anything for themselves…..oh wait, neither can the kids in every war torn, 3rd world country on this planet. You want to make a difference..start with helping the kids in your communities that need it. There are 1 in 3 children in the world that does not have a meal tonight. All kinds of money is spent on entertainment while kids go hungry.
I think we have become so conditioned to NOT see the faces any longer that we forget they are out there…

OneMomOf3–If YOU want to help, go ahead…you have no idea whether or not the people on this site or any animal advocate site do anything to help humans or not…stop splitting hairs…some of care about everything that has the capacity to suffer and don’t differentiate between species any more than we would between races of humans. Stop wasting your valuable time preaching and trolling around the internet, get off your arse, go take care of your 3 kids or go feed other kids in your community. Sheesh…sitting on your butt telling us what to do with our time…NICE.

Entertainment causes human children to go hungry, really? What causes any human to go hungry anywhere on this planet are the shallow, selfish humans who continue to enslave, torture, systematically rape and murder innocent sentient beings for food. Eating non-human animals IS causing humans to go hungry. Eating animals IS causing our environment to become one giant cesspool.
If someone doesn’t understand animals, it is not the animals that have a mental deficiency. Non-human animals were on this planet long before the human animal specie and did just fine until we came along, thinking we had a right to do as we please with every living being.
No non-human animal commits suicide for a human to have a meal that the human body simply is NOT designed to consume. How about all those non-human animals faces that are screaming to live?

Raven’s run- Your absolutely right and people who find the segway from animal rights to starving children should look at this https://emptyallcages.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/evolve1.jpg
It shows basic stats of how we are starving the world because we feed about 40% of all the grain we reap the animals we don’t need to eat!

A mom of 3…. you care so much about children, why did you not adopt? i know im assuming, but i am pretty positive you popped them out.. why add to the problem? you don’t care about starving children anywhere. you do nothing i am pretty convinced, for ANYONE but yourself and those in your immediate family.

1) YOU and your spawn are responsible for starving children. you pay for food to be grown to feed THE VERY animals you loathe so much and for whom you make yourself a stinking GRAVEYARD.
2) If you REALLY thought it “sucks that animals are treated badly” you would STOP being a hypocrite and live up to these values that you think you have, of compassion, whose definition is NOT limited to only the human animal.
3) you are telling people not to worry about animals (non human ones) because there are CHILDREN who are in war torn countries? by that logic, people should only care about ONE thing, and do nothing about others, and also by that logic, if someone is say, having their purse stolen, you wouldn’t do anything because children are starving in an underdeveloped country.😕 btw, children are bloody starving in your OWN country.
4) do YOU have a yellow ribbon on your car asking to SUPPORT our troops? Did you vote for the bush idiots? why do i even ask. i’m sure you did. thanks for voting for the country you live in to invade other countries and kill plenty of people of ALL ages for economic reasons. you don’t care anything about suffering of anyone but yourself.
5) children are NOT more important than other people who live here, OR other species. get stuffed you ageist, idiot and SPECIESIST

This douche bag evidently can’t chew gum and walk at the same time. As fror the ARA’s I know (myself included) we not only fight for animal rights, but for human rights across the board. we can multi task. I’d like to know WTF he stands for other than him self. As for anyone else who has “Their heads up their orifices” like he does & think the same, they can come kiss mine!

Mom of three did you know if people stopped eating meat that we could feed a starving world 3 times over; over a billion cattle populate the earth, with a combined weight greater than the entire human population. They are sustained unnaturally in these numbers to satisfy demand for their flesh. They are a primary cause for the destruction of the environment. Beef cattle return only 1 pound of meat for every 16 pounds of grain and soybeans they are fed, causing huge inefficiencies in food utilization, while millions of people go hungry

OneMomOf3, SERIOUSLY? You have some nerve and a little brain to actually come on here and makes such arrogant ignorant statements to us when you know nothing about us. I was room mother, raised my own and helped raised 7 others. Kids were always at my house and I STILL FIGHT FOR THE ANIMAL. You however probably do nothing for children nor animals nor anybody else on this planet but are just a waste of space.

You lived on a farm all your life and all you can say is that animals are too stupid to live anyway? I guess you didn’t notice how they comfort each other & didn’t notice how loyal they are & didn’t notice how they do everything that nature dictates they do whether they feel like it or not and didn’t notice that they are completely without malice, all traits that you clearly sorely lack. It pains me to think you then pass this mentality on to your 3 children. What have you done for children besides given birth? It is a fact that every time animals are helped children are helped. Every time a dog fighting abuser is put in jail, children are spared dog bites. Every time an animal circus is shut down, children are then free to see animals as they are meant to be & learn the truth instead of lies and are spared death on those occasions when circus animals go crazy from the constant torture. In every instance where animals are spared so are humans. The fact that you do not get that connection does not surprise me after all you are too stupid to live anway.

you are such a COWARD to come on an article thread and say such crap with a practically anonymous name like r ! Why dont you grow up? And if you REALLY gave a damn about those kids that are dieing in Africa then you would be on a site that was addressing that very problem instead of here posting immature and ignorant comments on a very serious site Grow up and go play somewhere else the ADULTS are talking!!!

Life of Pi had real animals in it. I notice an image of it in your last “use only cgi animals” image. I went to see it in theaters and it was really traumatic (and I watch gorey stuff all of the time). A lot of animal suffering portrayed and when reading the credits you see they used both CGI and real animals in the filming😦

Correct Corvus. Sadly, most productions still use some animal slaves and some CGI. The picture I made was to show that it can successfully be done- so there’s no reason to use real animals. Even Planet of the Apes used horses. Animals simply need more rights to stop this. Its the same thing with using lab animals when non-animal alternatives are available. Useless suffering.

Cstrigform- Its almost worse that they can make such incredeblely life- like CGI animals but still use real animals in the same film. Most movies only use CGI animals to keep actors safe. There’s still no respect for the animals rights or suffering.

Accidents happen. Many were avoidable, but these were accidents borne of ignorance and negligence, not intended harm. That needs to be acknowledged in order for an appreciation and acceptance of better knowledge can occur.

Also, calling them “slaves” is a stupid, divisive way to make a point. Not everyone agrees with the misapplication of the term to animals, and it will make the important information and education you want to propigate less likely to be received, when presented by a militant stance.

Humans were once considered slaves, thought to be lacking of intelligence and emotions. It’s time to end this “pick and choose” simply to soothe the guilt felt by doing what we inherently know to be wrong. If these same “avoidable” injuries and deaths were to have happened to humans, other humans would be outraged…why are you not outraged at the loss of life? No one life is more important than any other. We are all connected. Education, education, education. It is the only way for our planet to survive, and that includes all living beings upon this planet. When we “choose” to overlook any deaths, then we have chosen to allow exploitation to take hold. Exploitation is based on greed. If non-human animals aren’t slaves, then can you honestly say, they are free?

Just so you know, at least the Life of Pi, pictured in your bottom graphic, did not use cgi animals “only” – they hired real, captive tigers for some of the filming. One tiger was shipped from the Bowmanville Zoo near Toronto (a zoo that rents its animals out for all sorts of activities including movies and circuses) all the way to Thailand, a journey that must have been extremely stressful for the tiger, in order to be filmed. Bowmanville is bragging about it on their Facebook page.

The producers of The Hobbit should be charged w/animal cruelity and abuse. The movie should not be viewed at all and must be banned all across the country and the world. This movie is a farce. I will not go see it nor rent it nor own it. Just to make someone else rich off of my hard earned money. I AM BOYCOTTING THE MOVIE “THE HOBBIT”

It is inhumane to be using any animal for films when you cannot provide SAFE and warm shelter as well as PROPER food for them. It makes me sick to think they are treated like slaves for our entertainment. There is nothing wrong with using CGI animals. Many films have used this. The film company who requisitioned these animals for use during the making of The Hobbit and any one else connected with this terrible treatment of these animals need to be heavily fined and forbidden to use any animals during the making of the next two movies in this trilogy. I will NOT be seeing The Hobbit. Maybe we all need to boycott it in memory of the animals who lost their lives and in protest of the neglectful sad treatment they received.

You’re right Kit- I won’t be seeing it. The last pic of this article is grouping of just a few profitable movies that have recently used CGI for their animals. PeTA says they’ll be hosting protests. I’m going to contact them to find out about any in my area.

The sad thing is that many of the viewers of this movie are going to be children or young people. Not to say they do not care about animals but do not have the same knowledge and ability as adults to protest or act against this kind of thing. Or even be aware of it. I think the whole thing should be brought out into the open and let the chips fall where they may. If they’re going to make $500 million dollars, they can’t take care of animals properly??? Not right, not at all. It’s a disgrace!

Lou- protesters are people like you who make a sign and ask 3 or 4 friends to do the same! I have also done it by myself with media coverage. In my city I’m having people meet me on the corner by the movie theatre this Saturday at 5pm. If this truly bothers you, go protest!